Indian sprinter Deepthi Jeevanji won gold in the women’s 400m T20 event at the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday, October 20. The 23-year-old Telangana athlete set a new Games record, securing India’s fifth gold medal at the ongoing competition. With this victory, India’s overall medal tally rose to 23.
Deepthi Breaks Games Record With 57.34 Seconds
Deepthi clocked 57.34 seconds to win the gold medal, improving her previous winning time of 56.59 seconds at the 2022 Asian Para Games by 0.23 seconds. She had already made headlines in the qualification round, clocking 57.57 seconds to break the previous Games record of 58.69 seconds.
Japan’s Nina Kano won silver, while Akari Kato claimed bronze in the event.
This was Deepthi’s second consecutive gold medal in the women’s 400m T20 event at the Asian Para Games. She has also won medals at the World Para Athletics Championships and secured a bronze medal at the Paralympics in the same event.
Ashok Wins Medal in Para-Powerlifting
India also celebrated a significant achievement in para-powerlifting, with Ashok winning the country’s first medal in the sport at the ongoing Games. The result added another milestone to India’s campaign in Japan.
Double Podium Finish in Men’s Javelin
India secured two medals in the men’s javelin throw F53/54 event. Pradeep Kumar won silver with a personal-best throw of 27.45 metres in the F54 category, while Ayush Verma claimed bronze with a throw of 17.88 metres.
Iran’s Erfan Bondori won gold with a throw of 30.24 metres.
The result marked India’s second double-podium finish in javelin at this edition. Earlier, Rinku and Ajeet Singh had won gold and silver respectively in the men’s F46 javelin throw.
With athletes delivering record-breaking performances across disciplines, India continued its medal-winning campaign at the Asian Para Games 2026.